Virtual MVPD: The Future of Pay TV? Perhaps…

13 December 20132,974 viewsNo Comment

It’s a simple idea — a virtual MVPD (multichannel video programming distributor) is essentially a cable or satellite company without the cable, bundle or high cost. No matter how you get broadband, you can get the TV shows and movies from an MVPD, any MVPD, and Hollywood is working behind the scenes to make it happen. But…

First let me start by saying that, I think the virtual MVPD is coming. I don’t know if it’s this year. It’s certainly coming and we could certainly be happy to license our content to a virtual MVPD. I think that they would, from our perspective, have to buy the package of services that we sell. They would have to go out and do that with other media companies and put together something that looks very much like the existing MVPD offers. And at that time I think we would be very happy to have another entrant into the distribution side.

In other words, Disney would welcome more of the same — same bundles and, one suspects, the same or more money.

That said, the two biggest drivers of the cord cutting phenomenon are paying too much for stuff that few if any people want, which seems to be what Rasulo seems to be advocating.

And, on the subject of designed to fail, Verizon is said to be considering the purchase of Intel’s virtual MVPD OnCue service, which never got off the ground. Ready to pay Verizon, or someone else, $160 a month for more of the same? Me neither.

If cord cutting is about anything, it’s about easy, seamless access to content wherever we are paying less for the “privilege”…